Ashes Of Deep Sea-Chapter 220 - 224: The Captain Never Left
Chapter 220 -224: The Captain Never Left
The figure in the mirror really did leave—without doing anything extra, just like he said at the beginning, he came “just to see how things were.”
Fenna stared at the mirror with full vigilance for a long time, before she was finally able to confirm this and truly set her mind at ease.
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Then she fell into a brief spell of introspection and paranoia.
The paranoia was due to the professional habits of a Judge; she really found it hard to truly trust a “person” like Captain Duncan, who carried a century’s worth of terrifying legends and was also associated with Subspace, even if he seemed rational and friendly, and had indeed sheltered the Plunder City-State. The reason for self-reflection was simpler—
She realized that her vigilance had gradually weakened during her communication with Captain Duncan.
This manifested weakness was unexpected; she had never thought it would occur to her.
...
Ultimately, it was because she had fallen into a state of wavering and self-doubt, losing the purity of belief and thus creating a vulnerability in her spirit.
Fenna introspected deeply until finally, she heaved a gentle sigh.
Regardless of everything, the city had survived unscathed, and she would tell Bishop Valentin about tonight’s events, including… her own wavering.
The young Judge’s sigh disappeared into the darkness along with the extinguished lights.
…
On the second floor of the antique shop in the Lower City District, Duncan withdrew his gaze from the Plunder Cathedral and looked at the night view of the City-State aglow with lights near and far, his face bearing a contemplative expression.
He didn’t know what had happened to Fenna, but one thing was clear, the young Judge’s mental state had just undergone a brief and dangerous wobble—a wobble that had touched his perception directly, forcing him to make a projection in the real world to see what was happening to Fenna.
Looking back, the aura he had felt from Fenna was actually vaguely familiar—it was hidden deep within her spiritual world, surrounding her, and on closer inspection, it was a bit like…
Like that strange sensation felt when observing the chaotic light and shadows outside the hull through the cracks at the bottom of the Homeloss.
It was Subspace.
And judging from the last question Fenna suddenly asked him, the troubles she encountered might indeed be related to Subspace.
Duncan tapped his fingers absentmindedly on the windowsill, speculating about the truth.
Before leaving, he had reinforced the mark he left on her, which should be able to help her resist any potential Corrosion when necessary. But the key question was, why had a trace of Subspace suddenly appeared on Fenna, a high-ranking Saint?
Duncan’s thoughts spread out, and he suddenly connected to other clues, or “knowledge”—under certain conditions, the souls of the Four Gods’ Believers were more susceptible to Subspace Corrosion, and after their souls were eroded, they could even directly create a rift connecting the real dimension and Subspace. In that small church on Sixth Street, the initial infiltration had also started from the shadow of the Nun’s spirit…
Could a similar situation occur with Fenna? If so, what lay behind this counter-intuitive phenomenon?
After a moment of contemplation, Duncan exhaled and turned away from the window.
Regardless, he should pay more attention to Fenna, this special “node” in the future—lacking trust in him, the “Ghost Ship Captain,” she certainly wouldn’t voluntarily reveal all her secrets, which meant he needed to put in more effort from his end.
And on his way back to the bedroom, Duncan heard the giggling voices of two young girls coming from the next room—it was Nina and Sherry.
Although they had returned to the City-State from the Homeloss, they seemed quite excited, especially Nina.
The girl didn’t seem to have any mental scars from the eerie and terrifying Ghost Ship, nor any unease about the future—she was as cheerful as ever, and even… seemed a bit cheerier.
Was it the influence of the Sun Shard? Or was it because she inherently had strong adaptability?
Duncan was thoughtful, suddenly feeling that… he had discovered some unexpected “talent” in Nina.
The night fell low, and the cool, pale light of the Creation of the World illuminated the spacious deck of the Homeloss.
Lively footsteps broke the silence on the Ghost Ship in the night, a figure in a luxurious gown with silver hair cascading down her shoulders approached the helm at the stern.
Alice looked up at the captain who was steering personally, her shallow purple eyes reflecting the glow, sparkling brightly, “Captain! Where are we going next?”
“There’s no destination for now, let’s just steer clear of the busy shipping lanes between the City-States,” Duncan glanced down at the doll, “You seem to be in a good mood?”
“Yes, yes!” Alice nodded vigorously, embodying a joyful energy despite her elegant and noble appearance, “The ship was so lively today! It’s the first time I realized that just having a lot of people together can be so much fun…”
“Not all gatherings are ‘interesting’—but you might find that concept a bit difficult to grasp right now,” Duncan said casually, “Also, control the amplitude of your nodding a bit, you scared them half to death when your head almost fell off today.”
“Oh…” Alice hurriedly held on to her head and then seemed a bit worried, “They won’t stop coming because of this, will they?”
“That’s an unnecessary worry.”
Alice gave another slow nod then fell silent for barely two seconds before asking, “Then… can I still go to the City-State to play? I didn’t get a good look around this time before running into… all that messy trouble; it was really disorienting…”
Duncan’s gaze swept across the sea, then fell back to Alice, “Of course, you can. Tomorrow, I can have Ai Yi send you to the antiquity shop—I still need your help at the store.”
“Really?” Alice’s eyes lit up with surprise, “I thought… we wouldn’t be returning to the City-State much anymore, after all… it seems like you’ve finished what you needed to do there?”
Duncan didn’t respond immediately, instead intentionally going quiet for several seconds before suddenly asking, “Do you think I’m interested in Plunder because I have some necessary task to accomplish there?”
Alice was startled for a moment, then self-consciously scratched her head, “I… don’t know.”
Duncan smiled, shook his head, and gently released the steering wheel.
A faint creaking sound came from throughout the Homeloss, and the Spiritual Body sails on the mast gathered in a bit as the ship switched to “cruising mode” controlled by the goat-headed figure.
“We only resolved a mess created by some heretics,” Duncan stepped down from the helm and walked towards the captain’s quarters, casually speaking to Alice, “As for Plunder… I believe that City-State and I have a fate together.”
The captain walked away, leaving a puzzled Alice to think on the spot, then she turned her head to watch him leave, “The captain is truly profound…”
Duncan arrived in front of the door to the captain’s quarters, he looked up and saw “The Door of the Displaced” reflecting the dim glow from the Creation of the World.
He took a deep breath to calm his mind, then placed his hand on the doorknob.
He pushed the door gently inward.
A hazy, warped mist appeared before him, and Duncan stepped forward, experiencing the familiar feeling of momentary weightlessness and slight dizziness, as if traversing endless space and time, or as if instantly arriving at a destination. The misalignment sensation was fleeting, and then silence ensued.
The ceaseless sound of the wind and waves on the Endless Sea and the faint creaking from all around the Homeloss had faded away, and the briny sea breeze had also quietly dissipated. A familiar scent surrounded him, the scent of the room he had lived in for many years.
Zhou Ming opened his eyes and saw the unchanging view of his bachelor apartment.
As usual, upon his return here, his first task was to check the general state of the room, to see if anything had changed during his absence, to check for any signs that the thick fog outside the window had dissipated, to confirm whether the thin strings and paper scraps he had left on the window and sill had been moved.
Even though he knew it was meaningless to do so, he still treated this series of “confirmations” as necessary tasks to be completed.
After completing this series of checks, his second action was to approach his desk.
Zhou Ming bowed his head and looked calmly at the items on his desk.
A miniature model of Plunder City-State lay quietly on the table.
Intricate and restorative, every minute detail precisely replicated, it might even be that every single brick, every streetlamp, was an exact match for the real Plunder.
Or in other words, this was a “projection” of the real Plunder manifesting in his bachelor apartment in some form.
Its presence here was expected.
When the fine, dancing flames on the desktop had completed their last sculpting of this “collectible,” today, this perfect masterpiece presented itself before its master.
Zhou Ming gently exhaled, sat down at the table, and contemplated this delicate “model.”
Compared to the “model” of the Homeloss, the size of this “City-State” was clearly much larger, yet obviously not to scale. Its size seemed just right to fit into a separate compartment of a shelf, as if it were custom-made for that space.
And within this lifelike model of the City-State, there was no sign of any inhabitants.
It seemed that the “people” who lived in the City-State could not form projections here?
Zhou Ming pondered and scrutinized the Plunder City-State for a long time, finally letting out a sigh of relief. He carefully picked up the large “collectible” with both hands and placed it delicately on a shelf not far away.
After placing it, he took two steps back and silently admired his new collection.
The Homeloss had already sailed far from Plunder, but the captain… had never left his beloved City-State.
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